The State Emergency Service Volunteers Association Presented by Gordon Hall ESM Chair National SESVA (September 2018)
SES Volunteers Across Australia More than - 30 000
SES Roles as First Responders Varies depending on Jurisdiction Storm Damage Cyclone Earthquake Flood Tsunami Road Crash Rescue Vertical/Cliff rescue Cave Rescue Land Search Fire support Resupply
Where did the State Emergency Service Come From 1936 Commonwealth and State Governments agree; Each State be responsible for protecting their population against Gas attack And train personnel for essential civil defence services 1939 Dept of Defence was appointed as authority for national defence plans Directorate of Civilian Defence and State Cooperation was set up 1941 Department of Home Security was set up under separate Ministerial Direction
NES in WW2 - Interesting
Commonwealth Government Owned the; Provision of National Guidance and Coordination for Civil Defence 1959 In a ministerial statement in 1959, Interior Minister Gordon Freeth said, It is a basic principle that the States are responsible for the development of their own civil defence planning and programs with the Commonwealth providing national guidance and coordination as necessary. This principle has never been challenged and remains the basis of the Commonwealth Government s involvement in civil defence.
SES Units Formed State by State NSW 1955 after extensive flooding of the Murray-Darling river system and many lives lost SES & CDO formed in 1972 WA 1959 and then back to CD & Emergency Service in 1961 back to WA SES in 1974 Qld 1975 from QCD in 1961 Vic 1975 SA 1974 Name changed from CD to SES SA Tas 1976 as SES Tas NT 1978 part of the establishment of Self Government ACT 2004 as SES; previously ACT Emergency Service from 1974
SES Volunteers and Staff Numbers by Jurisdiction Jurisdiction Staff Volunteers Units Queensland 121 6600 309 New South Wales 368 9001 251 Victoria 150 5600 149 South Australia 66 1580 66 Northern Territory 13 351 22 Australian Capital Territory 8 325 8 Tasmania 24 550 31 Western Australia 14 1920 66
What Needs to be Satisfied An effective Service needs all three sides of the triangle Satisfied The Community
Examples of Cost of Major Disasters Newcastle Earthquake 1989 13 Lives lost Cost > $10B Queensland Floods 2010-11 33 Lives lost Cost > $7B Black Saturday Bushfires 2009 173 Lives Lost Cost > $3.8B 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 Cost in $Billion Tangible Costs in Grey Intangible Costs in Orange
Formation of the NSESVA There was an identified need to provide a national representation for the SES Volunteers With the Support of the NSW SES VA, the NSESVA was established in 2015 The NSESVA was established as a not-for-profit entity By 2017 seven of the eight jurisdictions had joined the NSESVA Tasmania has just officially formed their State Association and are now eligible to join
NSESVA Strategy The NSESVA was Established to; Bring together all SES Volunteer Associations from all jurisdictions Advance the SES Volunteers value and worth through National representation Represent the SES Volunteers at a National level Develop consistent positions on national matters for all SES Volunteers To lead and influence change at a national level
NSESVA Corporate Plan Governance Each jurisdiction has a Director on the Board There is a Chair, deputy Chair and a Secretary/Treasurer appointed There is a set of Governance Documents covering all areas of the business There is a National Council as a working group for research and advice on issues Advocacy Advocacy models have been set up to operate at a national level Profile Growth An Engagement Plan has been developed on communicating with a diverse audience
Role of the National SES Volunteers Association Provides advocacy at a national level representing all SES Volunteers Assists State Associations where requested Provides financial assistance on endorsed matters of SES National interest Represents all SES Volunteers at the National Emergency Services Memorial Service Represents all SES Volunteers on the Australian Emergency Management Volunteer Forum
Some Achievements of the NSESVA Assisted three jurisdictions in establishing their SES Volunteers Association Built an Alliance with the Council of Australian Volunteer Fire Associations (CAVFA) Annual attendance and wreath laying at the National Emergency Services Memorial Engaged the Dept of Home Affairs on SES Volunteer matters Establishing a National Raffle to provide funds to support the SES Volunteers AFAC Associate membership Working closely with the Australian Council of SESs (ACSES) Joined AEMVF (Australian Emergency Management Volunteer Forum)
NSESVA and AFAC AFAC Associate membership and representation on the following Committees; Volunteer Management Technical Group SES Fitness for Role Steering Committee AIDR Dranzsen Forum BNHCRC - Adapting the Sector Advisory Group AIDR Spontaneous Volunteer Handbook Working Group (now completed and handbook printed)
SES Volunteer Association Websites NSESVA NSW SESVA Qld SESVA Vic ESA SA SESVA WA SESVA ACT NT www.nsesva.org.au www.nswsesva.org.au www.qldsesva.org.au www.vesa.com.au www.sasesva.org.au www.ses-wa.asn.au www.actsesva.org.au Work in progress
SES Volunteers support is requested in some unusual matters In July the final testing of the Matagarup Bridge in WA was conducted Fifty SES Volunteers were required to jump, run and walk in a synchronised time manner Sensors on the bridge detected the movement as more than 3000 kgs hit the bridge on each step The damping devices were then tuned and the movement of the bridge decreased dramatically Here is a short video on the day https://www.facebook.com/dfeswa/videos/2066400236735627/
Are there any Question?